(PS?) Experiment [Sydney, Australia]

[Roderick Smith]

From www.australiaday.vic.gov.au/history.asp

In 1838, 50 years after Phillip landed, a number of celebratory events were organised and the first public holiday ever marked in Australia was announced for 26 January in that year.
Advertisement for illuminating Sydney town on the evening of Anniversary Day, 1838. Source: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 25 January 1838, National Library of Australia

The advertisement shows a small woodcutting.  It seems to be a PS, but I can't prove that.  The Sydney Harbour ferry fleet comprised paddlesteams for perhaps 50 years before screw took over.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[waldenmodels]

My other hobby is printing and typography, so I have two bits to chip in here: spot illustrations like the one you show were often purchased by printers by the pound, just like letters. They were furnished by commercial foundries and (mostly) had no concrete sources. So...the vessel shown has probably nothing particularly in common with the "Experiment".
Now I recalled reading that the "Experiment" was literally a horse-powered paddle steamer: the wheels were turned by horses walking on some kind of treadmill. A little googling turned up this snippet, I'm sure you can find a picture with some more searching.

The Experiment was the next vessel to tackle the Parramatta run. It was built at Clarence Town on the Williams River, near Newcastle, and sailed to Sydney arriving on 9 September 1832. On 5 October 1832, it made its first run to Parramatta.
  For the river run, Experiment was fitted with paddle wheels driven by two or four horses. The Sydney Herald at that time hailed Experiment as a major innovation. But, the horse-powered vessel soon failed and its owner and operator, Benjamin Singleton, sold the ship at a great financial loss.
  The new owner was John Edye Manning of the Australian Steam Conveyance Company. He had the horses removed and a 12hp steam engine installed.
  By 31 May 1834, Experiment had undergone trials with her new steam engine and returned to the Parramatta run.

Cheers,

Oliver

[Roderick Smith]

That was very interesting information Oliver.
With an 1832 building date, I wonder how the boat compared with William the Fourth?
www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2438.msg9179#msg9179
There are photos and information on the replica in Paddleducks already, but not anything on the original which I can find fast.

I can understand the point about the image not necessarily being authentic: modern newspapers do the same today, with any image grabbed from the web to meet publishing deadlines.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Here is some information on the original PS William the Fourth.
It was built at Clarence Town in 1831, intended to be sea going.
www.maritimeworld.net/sn.asp?PageNumber=65#id65
(some facts, plus a painting of the boat).

PS Experiment must have been smaller: partly to be powered by horse instead of steam, and partly to navigate Parramatta River.
Nevertheless, as an 1832 boat built at the same location, there must have been some commonality of style.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[waldenmodels]

more info from http://www.flotilla-australia.com/qldothers.htm

EXPERIMENT 37 gross tons. 80 tons deadweight. Lbd: 79'8" x 12'6" x 5'5". Paddle steamer built at Deptford Shipyard and launched on the Williams River New South Wales 1832 by Marshall and Lowe for Benjamin Boyd. When launched, the unusual vessel was propelled ‘by the rotary movement of four horses over paddlewheels’. This was not a success for a number of reasons which do not defy imagination. 1834 sold to Mr. Edye Manning who installed a steam engine. She worked at Parramatta from 1835. In June 1846 she was sent to Moreton Bay and was the first steamer to ply on the Brisbane River. Registered as owned by James Canning Pierce, she plied as far as Ipswich (in the Bremer) until foundering in the river January 1848. (Sank in the Brisbane River alongside the Queen’s Wharf early in the morning, 20 January 1848. Jack Loney notes that one version of her loss says she was never raised although her engine and boiler were salvaged and installed in the steamer Hawk. Another claims she was refloated, then sold in October to be broken up. Bateson confirms the second option, and suggests she was refloated and resumed her ferry service, but was sold on 16 October 1848 and broken up)